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First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima

You've Come a Long Way, Baby We admit it – we're genetically preprogrammed to be shallow creatures. Despite our moms' best efforts, recognizing inner beauty is all well and good, but it's physical beauty that first puts both people and consumables on our radar. Exhibit A? The 2011 Kia Optima. You see, while exactly nobody was paying attention, the outgoing Optima actually became a reasonably competitive mid-size sedan. But with the lackluster reputation of its predecessor compounded by styling so banal that it might as well ... Read more →

First Drive: 2011 Nissan Juke Chris Paukert

Unlikely Baby Crossover Confounds and Delights Remember the Nissan NX of the mid-'90s? The tiny, econobox-based sportster was as cute as a bug and spent its brief lifespan mixing it up with ...

First Drive: 2011 Ford Edge Zach Bowman

Sharpened Tech Claws More Than Scratch The Surface If you checked Ford's bloodstream right now, you'd probably find trace amounts of Ritalin floating along with the 5w-30. The company is an ...

First Drive: 2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder Jonathon Ramsey

The Idiot's Guide To Driving Gorgeously Quick Chas Murphy, until recently the U.S. product manager for Audi's TT, R8 and RS sports cars, said of the R8 V10 Spyder: "You have to drive the car. ...

First Ride: Autoblog gets hot in Dubai with 2011 Ford Explorer Rex Roy

With California's Death Valley conveniently located on the same continent as Dearborn, Michigan, why on earth would Ford ship engineers and the all-new 2011 Explorer all the way to the United Arab ...

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First Drive: 2011 Mini Countryman 22 days ago on Autoblog

Yes, it's a Mini. Yes, it's a crossover. Yes, it makes sense. Whether we like it or not, even niche automakers are expanding their lineups to appeal to a broader range of shoppers. This may seem like automotive blasphemy, but think back a few years ago when Porsche introduced the Cayenne. We ...

First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y 27 days ago on Autoblog

NOTE: Our first drive report of the 2011 Scion tC was originally published at 9am EST when Toyota's embargo lifted. We didn't want you to miss it, so check it out below. There's no demographic that's targeted more often than young, affluent males. Though these buyers may not have quite as ...

First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sails into new era of small cardom 1 month ago on Autoblog

Until now, General Motors hasn't exactly taken the small-car market seriously. While Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia have built their empires on the hoods of pint-sized, fuel-efficient transportation, history has shown the captains of Detroit tend to offer up parts-bin afterthoughts. Cars ...

First Drive: 2011 Nissan Leaf doesn't change the game, just the players 1 month ago on Autoblog

We've met the Nissan Leaf before. First at its coming-out party in Japan, followed by an all-too-brief stint behind the wheel of a Versa-based prototype late last year. Now we've had a chance to sample Nissan's first foray into the world of electric vehicles in production form and the automaker ...

First Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta gets with the (American) program 1 month ago on Autoblog

For Volkswagen of America, it doesn't get more brot-und-butter than the Jetta. Forced into the shadow of the best-selling Golf, VW Germany's refrain was "Sell more Golfs!" To which VoA would steadfastly reply, "Americans don't want hatchbacks!" This went on for over two decades until the ...

First Drive: 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI - Return of the Wing 1 month ago on Autoblog

By most accounts, something went awry while Subaru was baking the last generation Impreza WRX STI. Maybe someone slipped in an extra cup of civility or forgot to add enough dashes of hardcore, but what was once little more than a thinly-disguised rally stage escapee had come out of the oven a ...

First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid looks to split the uprights 1 month ago on Autoblog

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid hails from a nation where Buddhism is one of the dominant religions. After all, this slippery sedan's design is the gas-electric's equivalent of The Middle Path – a road that the company hopes is truly the way to ...

First Drive: 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX fills out with big bro's wide body 1 month ago on Autoblog

My, how the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX has grown. The plucky little sedan has gone off to summer camp and returned as a full-figured looker. Now donning its bigger sister's widebody dress and uprated wheels at all four corners, there are few tells this thing isn't fully capable of stopping at a ...

First Drive: 2011 Porsche Cayenne sports a 300-hp V6, but its engine isn't the focus 1 month ago on Autoblog

The Porsche Cayenne wears many hats. It masquerades as both the automaker's entry-level vehicle and as its flagship turbocharged SUV. Broad-shouldered in stature, one variant can blast to 60 mph in less than five seconds and top 170 mph, while another may be propelled quietly under the ...

First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T brings turbo power to Main Street America 1 month ago on Autoblog

We've watched with a sense of awe as Hyundai has gone from a discount also-ran brand into a genuine industry powerhouse in startlingly short order. But we've also long suspected that its vehicles have gained so much ground by being among the best values in their respective segments – not ...

First Drive: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is angular, unhinged glory 1 month ago on Autoblog

We've already discussed the complete, audacious beauty that is the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe. Not only is it one of the most attractive designs to come out of General Motors in decades, but it's arguably one of the best-looking vehicles on the road today, proving that Cadillac (and GM, for that ...

First Drive: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is right-sized at the right time 1 month ago on Autoblog

From all outward appearances, Mitsubishi could be considered the Chrysler of Japan. Its products have grown fragmented. Its focus scattershot. Its past interiors... well, the less said the better. So it was a breath of fresh air to hear that Mitsubishi's attention will be centered on two core ...

First Drive: 2011 Porsche Panamera conceals a V6 but gives up little else in the transplant 1 month ago on Autoblog

We're the lone vehicle in the far left lane of the Autobahn outside of Köln, Germany. The traffic has lightened, so we mash the accelerator to the floor. While we pull strongly up to about 200 km/h (about 125 mph), the speedometer counts much more slowly as it spins around the right side of ...

First Drive: Callaway SC572 and SC552 is the Chevrolet Camaro done right 1 month ago on Autoblog

There are a couple of salient points about the new Chevrolet Camaro that are inescapable. First, it has the looks that kill. And whether or not you dig the Camaro's aesthetics, you can't deny it stands out from the crowd. Actually, that's not the right way to put it – a new Camaro in a ...

First Drive: 2011 Kia Sportage keeps moving in the proper direction 2 months ago on Autoblog

The crossover is the high-fructose corn syrup of the automotive world. Think about it: Rather than using real sugar, Pepsi opts for a cheaper, highly refined and processed sweetener. Which, according to lots of studies, is pretty bad for us. Why would they do that? Higher profits, pure and ...

First Drive: 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible delivers the goods 2 months ago on Autoblog

As we see it, there's one major problem with the 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible. No, not the $280,000 asking price, or even the give-us-a-break curb weight of 5,269 pounds. We also aren't talking about the fact that this basic chassis has been around since 2003. Nor are we ...

First Drive: 2011 BMW Alpina B7 breaks the luxo-barge mold 2 months ago on Autoblog

Alpina is as familiar to German enthusiasts as Shelby, Hurst, Saleen and Yenko are to American gearheads. And like its American counterparts, Alpina has made a business out of taking the best vehicles from one marque and making them substantially better than anything rolling off the assembly ...

First Drive: 2011 Mazda2 puts fun before frugality 2 months ago on Autoblog

Mazda says there's a little bit of Miata in everything it does. While it's easy to chalk that up as marketing frippery, when the automaker launched the Little Roadster That Could back in 1989, it proved that great things can come from a machine developed to be simple, reliable and ...

First Drive: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is audacity in motion 2 months ago on Autoblog

There was a time when General Motors was a design leader. Before the Aztek, before the Catera, before the Sunfire and before the Citation, GM was synonymous with bold, strong, emotional automotive design. The General was so good at it that in the 1950s it was able to flood dealerships and stress ...

First Drive: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee redefines the Tipping Point 2 months ago on Autoblog

In the span of three years, Chrysler has been bought and sold more times than Duke Cunningham. Its warped "merger of equals" with Daimler ended in 2007 and the disastrous reign of incompetence extended into its relationship with Cerberus Capital Management – now a "bad word" within the ...

First Drive: 2011 Honda CR-Z 2 months ago on Autoblog

Let's get this out of the way right now: the 2011 Honda CR-Z is not a CRX redux. To compare the two – no matter how much Honda may want to – is to misunderstand the former and besmirch the latter. No, the hybrid CR-Z is an entirely different beast. Despite its three-door shape and ...

First Drive: 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera stupefies our senses 2 months ago on Autoblog

The explosive burble from the V10's exhaust coming off the back straight seems powerful enough to vaporize insects in mid-air. The Howitzer-like concussions shock through the firewall and slam into our spines an instant before the combustive dissonance has time to reverberate off the outside ...

First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class is better by a nose 2 months ago on Autoblog

Not too long ago, there was a time when all of the vehicles in an automaker's portfolio weren't required to wear the same uniform. Each model could be its own unique expression of the brand's strengths without being forced to schedule an appointment with the corporate plastic surgeon. Granted, ...

First Drive: 2011 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy Duty trucks set new HD standard 2 months ago on Autoblog

Usually whenever we head out to a new vehicle press launch, we have to sit through exhaustive technical and marketing presentations before we get a chance to climb behind the wheel. However, General Motors put us straight into a dual-rear wheel GMC Sierra 3500 crew-cab diesel upon our arrival in ...

First Drive: 2010 Saab 9-5 proves being born from chaos builds character 2 months ago on Autoblog

A funny thing happened on the way to bankruptcy court for General Motors. As part of a bid to have its red-stained slate wiped clean, it moved to divest itself of a number of brands in its bloated portfolio, with Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab all earmarked for sale or closure. However, only ...

First Drive: 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder drops a weight class and hits harder than ever 2 months ago on Autoblog

The blueprint goes something like this: Take an aging sports car and raid the corporate parts bin for a few high-performance items likely stolen from a flagship model. Tweak the suspension tuning, throw on some wider rubber, pare down the standard features, add a smidgen more horsepower and then ...

First Drive: 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost is smaller in size, still larger than life 3 months ago on Autoblog

Rich people are different from the rest of us. Their wants and needs involve parameters and details completely foreign to the proletariat. While we use our vehicles for transportation, utility and sport, the rich view their automobiles as a necessary accoutrement to their elevated lifestyles. ...

Third Drive: 2011 Buick Regal makes even more sense on American soil 3 months ago on Autoblog

It was cold and rainy last November when we first drove an early prototype of the 2011 Buick Regal in Michigan. The weather was lousy, but our short time with the car intrigued us. There were far fewer complaints about conditions last month when we spent time with the sport sedan on the famed ...

First Drive: 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo sheds 4,177 Twinkies - and it shows 3 months ago on Autoblog

Imagine, for a moment, that the Porsche engineering team has dropped 4,177 individually wrapped Twinkies on the lab floor. The yellow cream-filled sponge cakes are scattered shin-deep across the smooth ceramic tiles and kicked into the corners by technicians wearing white lab coats as more hit ...

First Drive: 2011 Audi Q7 downsizes with an upside 3 months ago on Autoblog

If there's to be a singular automotive theme guiding us into this second decade of the 21st century, it's downsizing. If not in dimensions, then in displacement. Automakers, forced to adhere to higher government-mandated fuel economy standards and lower CO2 emissions, are beginning to ...

First Drive: 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 is a heart-starting jolt 3 months ago on Autoblog

The 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 is so good we don't even want to associate the word "Mustang" with it anymore. Not that there's anything wrong with the Mustang – particularly the revised 2011 model. But as a sports car, the word "Mustang" conjures images of something much less than refined. If ...

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Autoblog Podcast #193 - Hot Mustangs, Volt Mileage, 1 Series M, Mazda design and Lotus Evoras

Chris, Sam, Alex and Dan convene for Episode #193 of the Autoblog Podcast. We cover the Ford Boss Mustang and Roush supercharger package, the latest Chevrolet Volt fuel economy dust-up, the BMW 1 Series M Coupe, Mazda's apparent new design language and the Lotus Evora S and Evora IPS. Thanks for listening!